Summary

Tourist attractions constitute the metaphorical 'heart' of tourism. This book aims to both deconstruct and construct what tourist attractions are, how we perceive them and how we can enhance our understanding of what attracts us as tourists. The volume reaches beyond current ideas about the ways tourist attractions are created, shaped and packaged. It focuses on the importance and subjective nature of identity, memory, narrative and performance in the tourist experience to find new ways of analysing and managing tourist attractions. The book will appeal to researchers and students in tourism and destination management and heritage and indigenous tourism.

Review:

This clearly detailed book makes an immensely valuable contribution by providing two distinct but complementary perspectives that are rarely encountered together: comprehensive knowledge of the ways in which attractions are defined, managed and studied, followed by critical analysis that helps to identify the socially symbolic meanings and political agenda that surround them. Both are jointly essential for responsible development and management of tourism attractions.

- Tazim Jamal, Texas A&M University, USA

A fascinating and, at times, provocative combination of personal and theoretical insights into tourist attractions and their place within broader cultural contexts. An examination of tourist attractions from an alternative perspective, thus making this a relevant read for those studying, managing and experiencing tourist attractions in all their variety of form.

- Anna Leask, Edinburgh Napier University, UK

This book is a milestone for tourism research. It makes post-modern thought accessible for both mature students and managers and meticulously applies theory to practice through worked examples. Both Husserl’s phenomenology and Rojek’s constructivism come alive and challenge the practitioner to identify how destination and tourist co-create the attraction.

- Juergen Gnoth, University of Otago, New Zealand

This innovative text provides a fresh perspective on attractions and provides the reader with a unique toolkit to explore tourist attractions through the use of narrative analysis.

This book is an invaluable resource for anyone involved in Tourism Studies, including tourist attractions, destinations, marketing, interpretation, text writing and research methods. Practitioners, academics and students will benefit from this book immensely as it offers a rich resource at a methodological as well as at a practical ad applied level. It is a delight to read, and causes many pauses for reflection.

Author Biography:

Johan R. Edelheim is Director of the Multidimensional Tourism Institute (MTI), Finland. His research interests within tourism and hospitality include education, linguistics and cultural issues. He is an executive member of the Tourism Education Futures Initiative (TEFI).